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Es Devlin: Please Feed the Lions

18-23 September 2018

Google Arts & Culture

Google Arts & Culture is a new, immersive way to experience art, history, culture and world wonders from over a thousand organizations worldwide. Google Arts & Culture has been created by the Google Cultural Institute and it is available for free for everyone on the web, on iOS and Android.

The Google Arts & Culture Labin Paris is a place where tech and creative communities come together to share ideas and discover new ways to experience art and culture. The Lab is a place for research and development -a physical space in Paris where artists can meet Google’s computer engineers and explore new ideas together.

Please Feed The Lions was an interactive installation in Trafalgar Square by Es Devlin, known for her innovative projection-mapped sculptures that fuse light, music & tech.

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Please Feed The Lions by Es Devlin, Photo Credit: Ed Reeve

Please Feed The Lions by Es Devlin, Photo Credit: Ed Reeve

Please Feed The Lions by Es Devlin, Photo Credit: Ed Reeve

Please Feed The Lions by Es Devlin, Photo Credit: Ed Reeve

Please Feed The Lions by Es Devlin, Photo Credit: Ed Reeve

Please Feed The Lions by Es Devlin, Photo Credit: Ed Reeve

Please Feed The Lions by Es Devlin, Photo Credit: John Nguyen/Pa Wire

Please Feed The Lions by Es Devlin, Photo Credit: John Nguyen/Pa Wire

Please Feed The Lions by Es Devlin, Photo Credit: John Nguyen/Pa Wire

Please Feed The Lions by Es Devlin, Photo Credit: John Nguyen/Pa Wire

The project followed a year-long collaboration between Es Devlin and Google Arts & Culture. Exploring the parameters of design and artificial intelligence, the installation incorporated a deep learning algorithm developed by Ross Goodwin, creative technologist at Google. Following the Festival, the sculpture will be digitised as part of an online exhibition on Google Arts & Culture so people all over the world can experience the groundbreaking artwork. The project is supported by digital commissioning body The Space as part of its work to ensure the broadest access to the arts through digital technologies.
Cast in 1867, the four monumental lions in Trafalgar Square had been sitting as silent British icons at the base of Nelson’s Column for the past 150 years. Overnight on Monday 17 September, a fifth fluorescent red lion joined the pride, facing northwards towards the National Gallery. The new lion was not silent: it roared poetry, and the words it roared were chosen by the public. Everyone was invited to “feed the lion”, and this lion only ate words.
By daylight, the ever-evolving collective poem was shown on LEDs embedded in the mouth of the lion. By night, the poem was projection-mapped over the lion and onto Nelson’s Column itself: a beacon of streaming text that invited others to join in and add their voice.
Devlin says the idea for the sculpture was prompted by a walk through Trafalgar Square with LDF Chairman Sir John Sorrell during 2017’s Festival. “He said: ‘Landseer never wanted those lions to look so passive; he proposed a much more animated stance, but Queen Victoria found it too shocking.’ The thought lodged in my mind. What if we could invest the lion with a diversely crowd-sourced collective poetic voice?”
What did the Lion say? Explore the project further at www.g.co/pleasefeedthelions and explore an online exhibition about the project on Google Arts & Culture.
In collaboration with: Google Arts & Culture
Supported by: The Space
Further Support: Luke Halls Studio, res.lab and LUX Technical

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